How to Find Opportunities Around You
Opportunities are all around us. We all complain about not being able to find opportunities. And yet, we fail to see opportunities even when they hit us in the face.
These moments seem serendipitous, based on luck and influences outside of one’s control.
HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT THE CASE.
As with everything, there will always be elements of luck. But you can put yourself in a better position to identify and take advantage of opportunities.
Gifts Falling from the Sky
Think of opportunities as gifts falling from the sky. Your ability to proactively seek and receive them determines how successful you can be.
Unfortunately, most people are reactive. They act in response to situations instead of changing the status quo. In other words, they wait for things to happen to them.
Those Who Take No Action
These people are blinded and cannot find opportunities unless they hit them in the face.
We see these types of people in all walks of life. Think of the many people who complain day-to-day about their jobs. These people claim that they want to do something else, but year after year nothing changes.
Those Who Have Got It All Figured Out
Other people are closed-minded. They choose only to see what they want to see, ignoring the rest.These people are blind to all the different possibilities in front of them.
They have a “vision” of what their lives should be like. They have everything “mapped out”. But by only considering the options they want to consider, they disregard all the other exciting things that could happen in their lives.
Those Who Are In Denial
Finally there’s the group who decides that they want nothing to do with opportunities. People of this group embrace the status quo, not because they love it, but because they are afraid of change. They see the possibilities and know where to find them, but are terrified to take action.
They choose not to find opportunities and are in denial and carry imaginary umbrellas with them.
In any case, what are metaphors without real life examples? Here’s a real example from my own life.
The Low Point — December 2014
In the beginning of December 2014, I was a 21-year-old graduate of the University of Chicago. I got my first job out of college in November at a company ranked #2 nationwide for workplace culture. To top it off, I celebrated by moving into downtown Chicago. Heck, life could have been any better at that point.
But then I got out of a long-term relationship… and then nothing seemed to matter anymore.
I spent the rest of December 2014 and much of January 2015 drowning in a vat of self-pity. It was the most challenging month of my life.
But looking back, I was really stupid.
Metaphorically speaking, I did the following things simultaneously:
- Put on my binoculars and decided to only see a future where I was still in a relationship.
- Walked around with my imaginary umbrella terrified and refused to seek out new opportunities.
- Blindfolded myself and began to rhetorically ask myself why I was in this shit storm.
If that was hard to visualize, this is basically what happened:
Peace in the Eye of the (Shit)Storm
Here’s the only image I could find of a shit storm. Not sure what the German guy is saying though.
Here’s the un-metaphorical summary of how December 2014 went down:
- I was alone in Chicago for most of this month.
- I had just started my job so I had no vacation days.
- My office was mostly empty because of holidays.
- My friends were all out of town on vacation.
2. I spoke with my family members who all lived in Asia every day when I ate dinner at home every night.
3. Strangers surprised me with acts of kindness.
- A colleague of mine went out of his way to take care of me. He regularly sought me out for lunch, called in to check on me and treated me like a brother. Knowing that I had no family in town for the holidays, he drove from the suburbs on Christmas Day to take me out for breakfast.
- I became great friends with a lady who worked in my apartment building. We’d talk about our life experiences and she’d give me her opinions and advice.
- I had therapeutic talks with my driving instructor as we cruised down Lake Shore Drive exploring Chicago together.
I spent a lot of time alone that month. For the first time, I had no obligations to anyone but myself. It was just me, my thoughts, and my problems. Just those three things every day.
The silence and lack of clutter provided me with clarity. I realized that my relationship was a band-aid over problems that I’ve ignored in the past. Questions about my life, where I wanted to go, what I wanted to be, how I would get there…
I no longer had the rosy comforts of a relationship to mask the not-so-good parts of life.
The Turnaround
Despite all the great advice I got, it was hard to break out of my mode of thinking. I tried to internalize everything, but I couldn’t execute what seemed like simple instructions.
January rolled around and I attended the Hive Global Leadership Program (Read: Set the Direction of Your Life). It changed me profoundly.
I realized that everything stemmed from my own actions. I had to take action to change myself. Throughout the next few months, I began to take responsibility for everything going on in my life — one small step at a time.
I tried out all sorts of new activities: Acting and Improvisation classes, reading self-improvement books, among other. Every day became more and more exciting as I set out to accomplish new goals.
Over time, I could tell I was moving forward, little by little.
Throughout the process, I learned so many things that I hope to share in this blog for a long time coming. Two of them I’ve already written about:
- Life is an experiment. The more you try new and different things, the more you win (Read: Life is an Experiment).
- To embrace the past in order to let go and move forward (Read: Letting Go, To Move Forward).
- The best way to meet new and interesting people is then through doing cool activities(Read: How to Meet Interesting People in the Real World).
As time passed, I saw more and more opportunities around me. It’s really exciting!
***No Longer Relying On Freebies***
I’m fortunate to have been in a situation that forced me to confront my issues. I’m fortunate to have met individuals and to take part in programs that got me back on my feet.
Yet I wonder where I would be now if those *chance* occurrences didn’t happen. This exact thought terrifies me. The realization that the reason I’m here today, better than ever, is due to chance. It’s like a divine being threw me a freebie this time around.
I might not be so lucky next time, and so I never want to assume that something like this will happen again.
Next time I’m in deep shit, I’ll drag myself out.
So after reading this post, answer the following:
- When were a few times when you received some freebies and how did it change your life?
- What are some opportunities in your life that you’ve taken and how have they impacted you for better or for worse?
- What are some opportunities you recognize in your life that you haven’t taken for whatever reason? How can you set forth to make them happen?
Now Go Find Opportunities
Opportunities are everywhere. But it all depends on our choices. Whether we can see opportunities in the first place; whether we have the courage to take the opportunities that come our way not knowing the outcome; whether we have the willpower to seek the opportunities that are further away.
It’s a choice we have to make alone. It’s said that we live and die by our choices. But we only truly live when we make our own choices, regardless of whether they are right or wrong.
So start hustling.
Victor runs The Remote Lifestyle (http://theremotelifestyle.com), where he teaches you step-by-step how you can become a successful digital nomad.
